Gingersnap Spiced Ale
Black Gold Brewery

Tallboy bought at the brewery; no canning date. Served slightly chilled.

Pours a hazy, translucent amber-bronze hue, generating two fingers of fluffy, foamy, off white-coloured head that lasts for the better part of five minutes. Plenty of sticky lace deposition, with a tight collar of suds remaining afterwards. It smells of pumpkin spice and ginger snaps: molasses/brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, with hints of coconut and pumpkin bread.

It's a decent spiced ale, but I was hoping for a little more heat and/or pungency from the ginger. I'm getting pumpkin bread, brown sugar, root beer and caramelized malts, with sweet gingersnap cookie taking over by mid-sip. Hints of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, with faint suggestions of toasted coconut; more gingersnap into the finish, with clove & cinnamon alongside molasses and pumpkin bread into the aftertaste. Light in body, with moderate carbonation that contributes to a crisp, prickly mouthfeel - it works well with the spicy flavour profile and low abv.

Final Grade: 3.73, a B grade. Black Gold's Gingersnap Spiced Ale is pretty good for what it is. There's no pumpkin in this beer, as far as I can tell, but the mélange of spices produces a fairly similar experience to that of a pumpkin ale - maybe it's the coconut serving a similar role? Needless to say, this is more of a fall/winter brew vs. a late spring/early summer one, but I can only blame myself for the poor timing. It's not a beer I'd go out of my way for, but I could see myself drinking this again next autumn if I were in the mood for something spicy and sweet.